Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
Can you imagine how much fun someone like Harrison Bader would be in the late 80s? Dude would've been Van Slyke but faster.
Instead he does nothing but lift, swings uphill, strikes out a ton, get pissed at people who question his breaking ball recognition and never learned how to run the bases nearly as well as his speed dictates he should.
So instead of Van Slyke he's on his way to being Laynce Nix. Fun.
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Absolutely, but those late 80's teams were an example of the team approach greater than the individual parts. Speed as a weapon is diminished if those batting behind you aren't putting balls in play either. It wasn't just about stealing bases on those teams it was the runs they put together by taking at bats to advance runners. Just constantly putting pressure on teams to make plays. OPS and power numbers were nothing special on those teams with usually the singular exception of a Jack Clark, yet they scored runs.